GAYOT's Blog

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by André Gayot

Remember the riddle about the ideal world in which the Italians would be in charge of singing opera, the British would prepare the tea, the Chinese would fry the rice, the French would do the cooking and serve the wine, the Germans would build sturdy cars and be police, etc. That’s the image of the world that we were so comfortable with thanks to the well-worn clichés. Something must have gone wrong: it’s hard today to recognize these established values in the same spots.

Continue reading “Of Cars and Pans: Culture Shock at the Assembly Line” »

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by Jeff Hoyt

Lovers, unite! With Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday this year, you have many choices of dates to celebrate with your significant other. Enjoy a romantic meal and gift-giving this Friday, Saturday, Sunday or the Monday itself. Or, wait until the following Friday and take your partner away for a three-day weekend if you have President’s Day off.

GAYOT.com offers both the best Valentine’s Day restaurants and the most romantic restaurants. We’ve even got the top 10 romantic restaurants and the top 10 places to kiss in the country, as well as the sexiest restaurants in certain cities. If you want to do it yourself, we feature a selection of romantic cookbook reviews, and your meal can be accompanied by one of our top 10 Valentine’s Day wines or top 10 romantic wines. Or, you can try one of our fine chocolates or aphrodisiacs!

Don’t forget our romantic spas, romantic hotels, and sexy hotels near you. We’ve even got the top 10 Valentine’s Day gifts, but we also recommend a couples massage. That way you’re getting as well as giving!

May you enjoy a LOVE-ly holiday.

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Continue reading “A Cheesy Time on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills” »

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by Tiffany Maleshefski

We’ve already described the holiday offerings at the bar and lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco. But the hotel’s new pastry chef Jeffrey Wurtz may have you postponing your resolutions to get healthy and eat right. The recent addition to the team, who has worked with Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon, has brought with him an upscale, sophisticated dessert menu that is now in step with Seasons‘ highbrow dinner menu. Try a brioche crouton plated with caramelized apple and melon sorbet.

Wurtz also has a penchant for gold leaf, and the fancy accoutrement is seen in almost every dish he sends out. Here it is with a refreshing and light raspberry sorbet served with elegant house-made chocolate tiles (and more comforting chocolate crunchies underneath).

Continue reading “Resolutions or Desserts?” »

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by Jennifer Olvera

It’s official: the holidays are here. The year is coming to an end. And many people are hoping like nobody’s business for a festive break from the norm. Relief has arrived in the form of celebratory dinners and gatherings throughout Chicago.

Take avec, for example. Despite never taking reservations, it’s not only taking them for New Year’s Eve but also serving patrons in $50 fixed price fashion (with wine for $25 more). Call for menu details and to secure your table. Meanwhile, Cibo Matto is saying “sayonara” to 2010 from 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. with a modern Italian, four-course spread featuring the likes of saffron pappardelle; Sicilian escarole salad with eggplant-ricotta involtini, walnut pesto and apple saba; and goat cheese gnocchi with oxtail ragu, toasted pistachios and pomegranate syrup ($99 per person). Over at One sixtyblue, there’s a lavish, five-course tasting menu replacing its regular offerings — think house-made saffron linguine with Parmesan and shaved white Alba truffles or wood-grilled beef tenderloin with crispy potato noodles and Périgord black truffle sauce. This luxury will set you back $95, plus another $45 when paired with wine.

Continue reading “Chicago Ushers in 2011 With Festive Food” »

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by Jeff Hoyt

Do you know what “carbon footprint” means? When it comes to food and beverage items, any idea what “fair trade” is? What do producers mean when they label their products “sustainable?” Even though many consumers don’t know what these phrases mean, the demand for sustainable food and beverage items continues to increase, according to a recent study.

In an online survey of 2,000 adults conducted by the Chicago-based Mintel, a whopping 84% of respondents said they regularly buy green or sustainable food and drink. However, many of them were unaware of what makes a product sustainable.

Continue reading “Carbon Footprint? 8-1/2, EEE” »

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by Jeff Hoyt

While you’re still working your way through Thanksgiving leftovers, we’re hard at work making the next set of holidays easier for you. Shopping? Check out our Top 10 Holiday Gifts, including a new book for foodies: Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert. Need a break from shopping? Unwind with one of our Top 10 Holiday Movies: some will steal your heart, while others depict stealing groundhogs. Going to a holiday party? Pick up one of our Top 10 Holiday Wines, which covers white, red, dessert, and sparkling. But for the best in sparkling wines, consult our Top 10 Prestige Cuvées, our selections of the top Champagnes available.

All of these lists and more can be found in our latest The Food Paper newsletter, published today. It’s easy to subscribe to our free newsletters, including our recently published Hotel Issue and our Annual Restaurant Issue coming out in January. Keep coming back to GAYOT.com for reviews of the newest restaurants and hotels.

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by Meryl Pearlstein

Do you know how long it takes to safely defrost a twenty-pound turkey? Don’t try to stuff it in your microwave. Instead, make a reservation at one of our top Thanksgiving restaurants near you. And don’t forget to pick up one of our recommended Thanksgiving wines.
For our friends in New York, we offer a top 10 Thanksgiving restaurant list and more of the best places to chow down tomorrow. Here are even more details of some of our picks. Enjoy your holiday. We hope you have lots to be thankful for.

Wall & Water: At the new Andaz Wall Street hotel, Chef Maximo Lopez May prepares a farm-to-table Thanksgiving culinary adventure between 1pm and 7pm. The menu will be offered for $65 per person or $32 for children 5-12. Start with “The Larder” (raw bar) with handpicked Fishers Island oysters, smoked salmon and trout, poached shrimp, red and white anchovy salad, and Hudson Valley cheese and charcuteries. Next, move to “The Family Table” where you will create your own salad before heading to “The Kitchen,” where you will be presented with oven roasted turkey, grilled swordfish, braised veal leg, vegetable soup, roasted root vegetables, creamy parmesan grits, mashed new potatoes, and steamed green vegetables. Finish your meal at “The Chef’s Table” with home style apple pie, berry crumble, chocolate cake, pumpkin pie, or make your own sundae.

Continue reading “Last-Minute Turkey” »

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by Meryl Pearlstein

 

Did that last-minute Thanksgiving invitation you were expecting not come through? Does the thought of making your own turkey and all of the trimmings scare you?

 

Fear not. There is still plenty of time to make a reservation at a restaurant that will take care of your Thanksgiving needs. For New York, as well as other major metropolitan areas, we even offer a Top 10 Thanksgiving restaurant list. Here are more details of what some of these top NYC Thanksgiving restaurants have to offer, and you won’t even have to clean up afterwards!

Continue reading “Talking Turkey” »

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by Jennifer Olvera

It wouldn’t really be Thanksgiving without the bird. However, there’s no need to settle for a staid approach — or do any of the heavy lifting yourself. This year, some Chicago restaurants are dishing up unique feasts, ones that require no fuss on your part but offer plenty of full-flavor surprises.

Big Jones, for example, will serve a festive, southern-style feast, complete with pimento cheese, okra and pickled green tomato starter; cornbread muffins and Sally Lunn bread with house-churned butter alongside house Concord grape and hot pepper jellies; a choice of appetizers, including butternut squash gnocchi with fried sage, roasted pears and mushroom jus; Vidalia onion and goat cheese pie with herb purée; a Waldorf salad with Redcort apples; and deep-fried Gunthorp Farms turkey with onion-thyme dressing. Needless to say, you can expect other comfort-driven, updated sides ($46 adults, $20 children under 12).

Continue reading “Bird is the Word: Thanksgiving, Chicago-Style” »

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